Spooky Things

Isn't Halloween the strangest of holidays? This morning in my neighborhood I saw an ax-murderer silhouette in someone's upstairs window. In any other season I might have called the police. Can you imagine what people who are unfamiliar with American culture must think of a holiday that celebrates all things dead, gory, and grotesque? If I were having a Halloween party, I'd send out this blood spatter invitation.

via Etsy

And I'd wear Essie's nail color Wicked. I will wear it all winter long, not just Halloween, by the way.

I'd serve Sinister Cider in these killer bird glasses while showing Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds in the background.

also via Etsy

Of course any Halloween cocktail should be served from a punch bowl with a frozen hand. 

My mother did this for a party one year and it was unforgettable. Directions and photo credit here. And if you're looking for something to feed your little trick-or-treaters before they stuff themselves with candy, tomato eye ball soup and witches hat grilled cheese sandwiches with celery stick brooms should do the trick. 

Recipes here. I hope to have one first-time trick-or-treater this year, but he is trying hard to figure out this bizarre holiday and may be too afraid to actually venture out in costume. If so we'll stay home and watch this, because it wouldn't be Halloween without it.

Happy Halloween!

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Chili

Soup, soup, what would my family eat if it weren't for soup? I promised you a soup recipe, and this is my absolute favorite soup of all time. I remember when my mom started serving it back in the 90s (that makes me feel old). At the time it seemed very exotic. Chili without meat? Chili with squash? Can you do that? Oh yes, you can.

Now it seems not the least bit unusual, which shows me how far we've come. My two-year old eats it and asks for seconds.

Be sure not to miss the cashews, which give it a nice crunch and really add a lot. You might consider adding avocado too. If you don't enjoy wrestling with butternut squash, you can buy it already peeled and cut up at Trader Joes.

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Chili

4 tablespoons vegetable oil 
4 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped
2 medium red bell peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium butternut squash, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 10 cups)
2 cups canned vegetable or reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 14 1/2-ounce cans diced tomatoes
2 15 1/4-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
4 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups fresh or frozen corn
1 cup cashews, coarsely chopped

In a large stockpot over medium heat, add the oil. Add the onions, red peppers and jalapeno and saute until softened, 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the squash, broth, tomatoes and their juice, black beans, chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. 


Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the corn and cook for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Top each serving with cashews.


Serve this with cornbread and you've got a great fall meal.

Oven Pancakes

Oh, glorious weekend, how we love you. This was a good one. The light was clean, the air crisp, and there were ghosts and goblins everywhere. Here's how we spent our two days:


Playing on the beach. Fall days are so nice at the shore. It's not too hot and the sun feels good on your skin.

Starting in October the dogs are allowed to stay on the beach all day, and they are everywhere and sooooooo happy. You've never seen so many happy dogs! If you're lucky sometimes the salt air mixes with wood smoke from fireplaces in the houses that line Sullivan's Island.

 

 It's enough to make me want to build a bonfire, roast s'mores, curl up in a sleeping bag and spend the night on the beach. But that will have to wait until these guys are a little older.

Listening to Warren Haynes live coming in through our windows. He was right down the street at the Southern Grounds music festival.

Watching Tennessee get beat by the mighty Alabama. It's a rebuilding year. At least now we have a classy coach, and one who can rock the orange pants with style. And here are the two Volunteers on game day.

Painting pumpkins. It's not the color combo that I would have chosen, but I like to let him do his own thing.

Anticipating moving into our house. We'll be there in four short weeks. I guess I should begin packing us up (what?). Here's what it looks like so far.

Eating soup, soup, and more soup. Recipe to follow later in the week. And for Saturday breakfast this oven pancake which was oh-so-easy and very popular.

Oven Pancake

9 eggs

1 1/2 cup flour (I used half white and half whole wheat)

1 1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

Put all in blender and blend until smooth. In an oven preheated to 425 degrees, melt 2 T butter. I used a cast iron skillet, but a 9x13 baking pan would work too. Next pour the mixture in the pan and cook for 20 minutes.

Serve these with whatever you like. We used strawberries and powdered sugar, but apples, bananas, whipped cream and maple syrup would all work as well.

And finally, sitting in this traffic jam as we waited for the bridge to open on our way home.

Goodbye weekend, hello Monday. The end.

Do You Sing to Your Children?

My little boy and I stand on our balcony each night and sing to the moon before he goes to bed. It has become my favorite time of the day. Sometimes we sing Barges, and if there are stars out we sing Twinkle Little Star. And every night we finish with this song, which is my all-time favorite and another taught to me by my own mother:

I see the moon and the moon sees me
The moon sees somebody I want to see
God bless the moon, and God bless me
And God bless the somebody I want to see.

Most people know that verse, but it's the next verse that I really want my boy to hear:

I really think that God above
Created you for me to love
He chose you from all the rest
Because He knew I would love you the best.

Of course, when we sing together I am not looking at the moon. I've seen the moon before. I'm looking at my boy's face as he sings words that I hope he will always remember.

via

What do you sing to your children?

The Importance of Family

the first four siblings (David came along later)

 My mother and her four siblings, along with their father (my grandfather - if you know me you know that I adore this man) are headed to our little cabin in the woods this weekend for some rare time together. My grandmother would be there too except that she's been gone from us for a long time. oh yes, and they had a scandalous divorce.

These five siblings are very different in their lifestyles, personalities, and values. And yet they've stayed together as family through the years and supported each other more than most families. Despite their differences they have these things in common:

1. The same sense of humor
2. The very same blue eyes
3. Many, many shared memories
4. A belief that nothing is more important than family

all five siblings + my grandmother. note: that is not a lion. that is my uncle Louis.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

I Corinthians 13

A Pretty Guest Book

Do you know someone who is getting married? I can't imagine a more beautiful guest book than this one from Celadon Home on etsy. Simply order the kit beforehand, have your guests fill out the hearts at your wedding, send it back to Celadon Home and it comes back to you as art. How pretty.

 Thanks to Avie for pointing these out to me.

Blue Heaven

I had hoped to post pictures from our trip to Harbor Island to meet friends this past weekend, but since we were only there for twelve hours before we had to flee in darkness because our children wouldn't settle in and sleep, there weren't many photo opportunities. At 5:30 in the morning, after a night of little sleep, Andy and I looked at each other and made the mutual decision to cry uncle. If you have small children you may have a similar story.

Now that we are home and back to our routine (which I've realized is the only thing holding us together right now) my children are having a sleep fest. Apparently all they needed was their own beds. And I am traveling in my mind, remembering what vacation used to mean before it meant constant worrying about dangerous stairs, unfamiliar beds, the perils of room sharing and searching for diapers and feeding utensils when they are scattered amongst multiple suitcases.

One of our favorite spots on earth is Blue Heaven in Key West, an ecclectic restaurant with bright table cloths, a dirt floor, and chickens running around at your feet. They serve delicious bloody marys and one of the best breakfasts I've ever had: pancakes, benedicts, homemade banana bread, shrimp and grits, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. It may be a while before we travel again, but today I am at Blue Heaven in my mind, enjoying breakfast with Andy and deciding how we'd like to spend our day.

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How do you manage travel with small children? If you have any ideas or things that have worked, I would love to hear them.

Visualize Whirled Peas

Our baby girl has just started eating real food. It's a slow process as she tries each new food. Can you imagine how strange the sensation of waking up your taste buds for the first time feels? No wonder she makes such faces. I read in this book that one of the reasons babies put so many things in their mouths is to desensitize them. They are preparing their mouths for food.

There are so many reasons to make your own baby food. It's wholesome, natural, and not filled with preservatives or sugars. Jarred food gets heated to super-high temperatures, which kills some of the nutritional value. Making your own food is less expensive than buying baby food. I think one of the most important reasons to make baby food is that you can control the consistency so your baby gets used to having differing textures. Of course it does take a little extra time to make your own food, but I've found that it really doesn't take any special equipment. All I use are a steamer basket, food processor, and ice cube trays for freezing portions for later.

And when we are traveling and I don't feel like having the extra burden of making baby food, I buy Sprout baby food pouches to take on the road. I've been lucky to have two good eaters who are willing to try new foods. I hope they will stay that way.

Nature Walk

Here is a bit from our Monday. Sometimes it's hard to get outside. So I gave him a bucket and told him we were going to look for things to put in it. We found crabs, acorns, shells, and roots from this tree, which fell into the water. At the end he dumped it all back out and together we counted 23 things. 

The end.